Saleh Al-Turki is a notable Saudi businessman and the founder of Nesma Holding Company. In 2018, he took office by royal decree as Mayor of Jeddah Governorate.
His Upbringing and Education
Saleh Al-Turki was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1947, while his family migrated between Iraq, Kuwait, and Lebanon. He grew up in Lebanon before moving back to Jeddah.
He received a BA in Public Administration from the American University of Beirut in 1970, followed by an MBA from California State University in 1975. Furthermore, he started his career in the early 1970s and was the first founder and president of Nesma Holding Company.
Saleh Al-Turki was well-known for his philanthropic efforts and social projects, which had a wide-ranging good impact on Saudi society. His projects include the establishment of institutions for rehabilitating and improving the talents of Saudi youth and his sponsorship of the Al-Bir Society.
Saleh Al-Turki’s Achievements
Saleh’s professional career began in the private sector, when he and several of his colleagues, Marwan and Imad Gholmie, founded Nesma Holding Company in 1979, which is an acronym of the company’s English name, National Engineering Services Company.
The firm has attempted to develop its name both in the Kingdom and beyond the world. Perhaps the most visible initiative conducted by the firm in its initial launch, regarded as the most important starting for its advantage, is recruiting a Korean corporation so that Nesma becomes its first and primary marketer in the Kingdom.
Indeed, Saleh and his business partners were able to successfully sell the Korean firm and get its first formal deal in Yanbu, worth more than 50 million Saudi riyals. Nesma Co. earned a commission of 2.5% of total profits.
After the firm’s successful start and the success of the Korean company’s project via it, Nesma Co. grew under Saleh and his partners’ management to become the most successful company in Saudi Arabia and the most famous worldwide.
The corporation has grown tremendously, now owning more than 47 enterprises, the most notable of which is Nesma Airlines, which was founded in July 2010 and has two primary offices in Hail and Cairo.
Saleh Al-Turki’s Positions
- Served on the Board of Directors of Arab Poultry Breeding Company (OMMAT).
- Served on Reaya Medical Holding Company’s Board of Directors.
- Served on the Advisory Board of Coutts Bank of London in the Middle East.
- Member of the Board of Trustees at Prince Muqrin University in Medina.
- Member of the Board of Trustees of Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah.
- Member of the Advisory Board of Effat University in Jeddah.
- Former member of Makkah Region Council.
- Former member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Business and Technology (UBT).
- Former member of the Advisory Board for the Saudi Research Science Institute (SRSI) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
